Cast

Musikalische Leitung

Carlo Rizzari

Conductor

Carlo Rizzari

Carlo Rizzari has conducted many important orchestras such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Suisse Romande Orchestra, Graz Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of San Carlo Theatre in Naples, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, the Orchestra Regionale Toscana (Regional Tuscan Orchestra), the Orchestra of the Bellini Theatre in Catania, the Italian Swiss Orchestra, Pomeriggi Musicali Orchestra in Milan and many others.

A material point for his training is the experience fully grown, since 2006, as Antonio Pappano’s Musical Assistant at Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. With the same he was invited by Claudio Abbado for a concerts series in Bologna and Lucerna with the Orchestra Mozart.

He regularly conducts the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra during the symphonic seasons and for the Family Concerts, working with great soloists as John Osborn, Barry Banks, Celso Albelo, Sonia Ganassi, Lang Lang.

He was invited at the 2009 edition of Knowlton Festival and began an important collaboration with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, conducting inside the new Performing Art Center (February 2012) a program dedicated to Respighi (Fontane di Roma, Pini di Roma) with an enthusiastic standing ovation of the audience.

He inaugurated, in Rieti, the Reate Festival editions 2009, 2010 and 2011 conducting, inside the Flavio Vespasiano Theater, Donizetti’s “Il Campanello”, Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi”, Ravel’s “Heure Espagnole”, Rossini’s “Adina” and a precious music programme dedicated to the “Risorgimento” period: arias, choir pieces and symphonies from the most renowned Verdi’s operas.
As a Belcanto expert he conducted “Don Pasquale” at the Sao Carlo Theater in Lisbon, the Rossini’s opera “Il Signor Bruschino” in Rome, Puccini’s “La Bohème” at the Bellini Theater in Catania, Rigoletto in Bari (Petruzzelli Theater) and Genua (Carlo Felice Theater) and inaugurated the Rome edition of the Belcanto Festival with the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di S. Cecilia in a successful “Three Tenors of Belcanto Concert” with John Osborn, Barry Banks and Celso Albelo.

In June and July 2012, Carlo Rizzari has been the main artist of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Summer Season, in different concerts with the pianist Lang Lang (with Beethoven Concerts n. 1 and n. 5) and facing the five Beethoven odd symphonies, gainig a great success of audience and critics.
In december 2012 he was invited by the Petruzzelli Theater in Bari for the second concert of the new symphonic season with a programme focused on Beethoven 5th and 7th symphonies. He has been one of the four conductors of “Play It!”, the festival held by the Orchestra Regionale Toscana in Florence dedicated to the new italian composers, winner of the prestigous Abbiati price 2014.

Carlo Rizzari is the artistic and musical director of the Young Talents Orchestra EY, the youth orchestra of the Ernst & Young Company in Italy.

Performances

María José Siri

María José Siri is one of today's foremost sopranos, having earned praise for her interpretations of the great Verdi, Puccini and Verismo roles.

Engagements of the 2017/2018 season include the title role of “Madame Butterfly” at the Vienna State Opera, the Bayerische Staatsoper of Munich and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, a new production of “Francesca da Rimini” and “Messa per Rossini” at the Teatro alla Scala, Amelia in “Un ballo in maschera” at the Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona, Elisabetta di Valois in “Don Carlo” in Valencia and Bologna and a gala concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.

In 2016/2017 she inaugurated the season of the Teatro alla Scala as Cio-Cio-San in “Madama Butterfly” conducted by Riccardo Chailly, performed Verdi's “Messa da Requiem” conducted by Maestro Chailly with the Teatro alla Scala on tour to the Bol'šoj Theatre in Moscow, and subsequently with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Marek Janowski and at the Florence Opera House conducted by Myung-Whun Chung, “Manon Lescaut” at the Teatro Regio of Turin, Teatro San Carlo of Naples and Grand Théâtre of Geneve, “Tosca” at Semperoper Dresden and Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Maddalena di Coigny in “Andrea Chénier” at Deutsche Oper Berlin and at the Teatro dell'Opera of Rome, “Madame Butterfly” at the Macerata Opera Festival, “Aida” at the Arena of Verona and “Messa da Requiem” at the Santander Festival.

The Uruguayan soprano began her vocal studies at the ENAL Montevideo, completing them at the Paris Conservatory and with Ileana Cotrubas in Nizza and Vienna.

Maria José Siri performed her first operatic roles on the stages of her native country and in Argentina, making her European operatic debut in 2008 as Leonora in “Il trovatore” in Genoa under the musical direction of Bruno Bartoletti.

Engagements since then have led her to the most prestigious opera theatres and festivals worldwide, among them the Teatro alla Scala (Aida), the Vienna State Opera (“Tosca” and Maddalena in “Andrea Chénier”), the Liceu Barcelona (Mimì in “La bohème”), the Berlin State Opera (Tatiana in “Evgenij Onegin” and “Tosca”), the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Tosca), La Monnaie Brussels (Amelia in “Un ballo in maschera”), the New National Theatre Tokyo (Tosca and Andrea Chénier), the Palau de les Arts Valencia (Manon Lescaut, Aida), the ABAO Bilbao (Elisabeth de Valois in “Don Carlos”), the Teatro Comunale Bologna (Leonora in “Il trovatore”, Amelia in “Un ballo in maschera” and Odabella in “Attila”), the Teatro Regio Turin (“Tosca”, “Andrea Chénier”, Amelia in “Simon Boccanegra”, Desdemona in “Otello”), the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli (Mimì in “La bohème” and “Suor Angelica”), the Maggio Musicale Florence (Aida), the Teatro La Fenice Venice (Il trovatore), the Monte-Carlo Opera (Nedda in “Pagliacci”), the Hamburg State Opera (Aida), the Semperoper Dresden (La bohème), the Mikhailovsky Theatre Saint Petersburg (Rachel in “La Juive”), the Bregenz Festival (Aida and Andrea Chénier), the Macerata Opera Festival (Norma) and the Arena di Verona (“Aida”, Donna Elvira in “Don Giovanni”).

Performances

Alisa Kolosova

Russian mezzo-soprano Alisa Kolosova opens her 2017/18 season with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Edo de Waart as Marguerite in “La Damnation de Faust”. Other season highlights include a return to the Bayerische Staatsoper as Maddalena in “Rigoletto”, and house debuts at Teatro alla Scala and Staatsoper Hamburg.

Kolosova has appeared to great acclaim at many of the most prestigious theatres throughout the world, including the Opéra National de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bayerische Staatsoper, Salzburg Festival, Wiener Staatsoper, and Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and performed at venues including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kennedy Centre and Carnegie Hall. Recent highlights include a critically acclaimed Isoletta (La Straniera) at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, her debut as Dalila in Saint Sans’ “Samson et Dalila” in Basel, Maddalena (Rigoletto) at the Bayerische Staatsoper and for Rome Opera, her debut for Dutch National Opera debut in a new production of Berlioz’s “Romeo et Juliette”, “The Glagolitic Mass” with Sir John Eliot Gardiner at the Tonhalle in Zurich, and Foreign Princess (Rusalka) at the Opéra National de Paris and at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis.

A former member of the Atelier Lyrique at the Opéra National de Paris and the Salzburg Festival Young Artists Programme, Kolosova came to international attention in 2010 at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, performing in the acclaimed production of Mozart’s “La Betulia liberate” under the baton of Riccardo Muti. Between 2011 to 2014 she was a member of the ensemble of Wiener Staatsoper where her roles included Polina (Pique Dame), Olga (Eugene Onegin), Fenena (Nabucco), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) and Bersi (Andrea Chenier).

Performances

Massimo Giordano

Born in Pompeii, Massimo Giordano has gained attention as a leading tenor in such opera houses as the Royal Opera House – Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Vienna State Opera, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Rome Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Zürich Opera House, Teatro alla Scala in Milan and Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In the current season, Giordano sings Cavaradossi in “Tosca” at the Hamburg State Opera, Korean National Opera and Teatro Verdi in Trieste, Des Grieux in “Manon Lescaut” at the Staatsoper Hannover and New Zealand Opera, and Don José in “Carmen” at the New National Theatre Tokyo.

Engagements from the 2015/16 season included Des Grieux and Cavaradossi at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the title role in “Don Carlos” at the Semperoper Dresden and Teatro Auditorio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial in Madrid, and Alfredo in “La Traviata” at the Hamburg State Opera. In the 2014/15 season, Giordano sang Don José at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Arena di Verona, Cavaradossi at the Vienna State Opera and Paris Opera, the title role in “Faust” at the Berlin State Opera, the title role in “Andrea Chenier” at the Vienna State Opera, Des Grieux at the Royal Opera House of Muscat, and Pollione in “Norma” at the Bavarian State Opera House, Munich Opera Festival and National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. Engagements from the 2013/14 season included Alfredo at the Vienna State Opera and Teatro Regio in Turin, Cavaradossi at the Bavarian State Opera and Vienna State Opera, Pollione at the Vienna State Opera and Opéra de Lyon, Rodolfo in “La bohème” at the Paris Opera, Des Grieux at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, and Maurizio in “Adriana Lecouvreur” at the Vienna State Opera.

In the 2012/13 season, Giordano sang Alfredo at the Hamburg State Opera, Foresto in “Attila” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Don Carlos at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, and Cavaradossi at the Royal Opera House – Covent Garden, Zürich Opera House, Deutsche Oper Berlin, San Francisco Opera and Asoc Bilbaina de Amigos de la Opera in Bilbao. Engagements from the 2011/12 season included Don Carlos at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Don José at the Vienna State Opera and Zürich Opera House, Cavaradossi at the Munich Opera Festival, and Pollione at the Opéra de Nice and Cité de la Musique in Paris. In the 2010/11 season, Giordano sang Don José at the Bavarian State Opera and Zürich Opera House, Cavaradossi at the Paris Opera and Savonlinna Opera Festival, Roméo in “Roméo et Juliette” at the Vienna State Opera, and Rodolfo at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Spain.

Highlights from Giordano’s previous seasons include “La bohème” at the Bavarian State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Covent Garden, Berlin State Opera, Metropolitan Opera and Los Angeles Opera; “Tosca” at the Semperoper Dresden, Berlin State Opera and Dallas Opera; “La Traviata” at the Metropolitan Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bolshoi Theatre, Teatro Regio in Parma, Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Teatro alla Scala (under Lorin Maazel), Los Angeles Opera and Santa Fe Opera (for his American stage debut); “Roméo et Juliette” at the Bavarian State Opera, Frankfurt Opera House, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Pittsburgh Opera; the title role in “Werther” at the Bavarian State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Zürich Opera House; Des Grieux in “Manon” at the Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera (opposite Anna Netrebko) and Metropolitan Opera (opposite Renée Fleming); Nemorino in “L’elisir d’amore” at the Opera de Monte Carlo and Vienna State Opera; Fenton in “Falstaff” at the Semperoper Dresden and Covent Garden (under Antonio Pappano); Rinuccio in “Gianni Schicchi” at the Metropolitan Opera (under James Levine) and Glyndebourne Festival (under Vladimir Jurowski); Don Ottavio in “Don Giovanni” at the Teatro Regio in Turin and Teatro San Carlo in Naples; the Duke in “Rigoletto” at the Teatro Real in Madrid; Lensky in “Eugene Onegin” at the Glyndebourne Festival (under Vladimir Jurowski); Gerald in “Lakmé” at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo and Rome Opera; Ruggero in “La Rondine” at the Rome Opera; “Macbeth” at the Edinburgh Festival and Rome Opera; Lancelot in “Le Roi Arthus” at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, Italy; Wilhelm Meister in a concert performance of “Mignon” with the Opera Orchestra of New York (under Eve Queler); and a European duet recital tour with Anna Netrebko.

Massimo Giordano studied flute and voice at the Conservatorio G. Tartini in Trieste and completed his vocal studies under Cecilia Fusco. After winning numerous vocal competitions, Giordano made his professional debut in 1997 as the title role in Mozart’s “La clemenza di Tito” in Spoleto. This was followed by his first performances as Ernesto in “Don Pasquale” at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste and his first performances as Alfredo in “La Traviata” and the title role in “Werther” in Spoleto. It was his 1999 portrayal of Werther at the Teatro Municipale in Reggio Emilia that led to a rapid succession of important debuts. These debuts included “Roméo et Juliette” at Parma in 1999, the title role in Massenet’s “Le Jongleur de Notre Dame” at the Rome Opera under Gianluigi Gelmetti, Verdi’s “Il Giorno di Regno” at the Teatro alla Scala in 2001, and Fenton in “Falstaff” at the Salzburg Festival in 2001 (at the Easter Festival under Claudio Abbado and then at the Summer Festival under Lorin Maazel).

Giordano often performs in concert and has sung Verdi’s “Requiem” under Riccardo Chailly in Amsterdam, Toulouse, Vienna, Dresden and Budapest, under Zubin Mehta in Tel Aviv, and under Gianluigi Gelmetti in Rome and Sydney. He has also worked with such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Bruno Campanella, Riccardo Chailly, Alain Guingal, Gabriele Ferro and Michel Plasson and with such stage directors as Declan Donnellan, Alberto Fassini, Pierluigi Pizzi, Luca Ronconi, Graham Vick, and Franco Zeffirelli.

Performances

Alexey Bogdanchikov

Alexey Bogdanchikov is a young Russian baritone. Born in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) in 1985. In the 2011/2012 season he embarked upon his first resident contract in the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Alexey Bogdanchikov previously studied at the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre and the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory in Moscow, where, in October 2012, he returned to complete his master’s degree in music. In September 2012 he won the 2nd prize in the prestigious European Vocal Competition “Debut”. He has also taken part in various Russian vocal competitions and won prizes in Smolensk (2006) and Rusa (2007). In 2010 he was winner of the Armel Opera Competition in Hungary, which led to his engagement in the role of Barrett in Marco Tutino’s opera “The Servant” at the Armel Opera Festival in Szeged. He sang this role again in Pilzen, Czech Republic, and, in, 2011, in Lugo, Italy. In January 2011 Alexey Bogdanchikov made his debut at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as Wolfram in “Tannhauser”.

Alexey Bogdanchikov’s repertoire includes number of important roles in Russian, Italian and German operas like Onegin in "Eugene Onegin", Robert in "Iolanta" and Prince Eletsky in "The Queen of Spades" by Tchaikovsky, Belcore in "L’elisir d’amore" by Donizetti, Marcello in "La Boheme" and Ping in "Turandot" by Puccini, Wolfram in "Tannhauser" by Wagner and Barrett in Marco Tutino’s "The Servant". In June 2013 he represented Russia at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Guest contracts in 2013/2014 included Marchese in "La Traviata" in Guangzhou Opera House, at The Teatro Luciano Pavarotti in Modena and at the Teatro Municipale in Piacenza Alexey made his debut as Paolo Albiani in "Simone Boccanegra" next to Leo Nucci and Carlo Colombara. Also Teatro Delle Muse, Ancona, engaged Alexey to sing the role of Belcore in "Elisir d’amore" and Teatro Dell’Opera di Roma to do Morales in "Carmen". Also Alexey sang the role of Onegin in Astrakhan opera house and in Magnitogorsk. From 2014 Alexey Bogdanchikov is a member of ensemble of Moscow Kolobov Novaya Opera Theatre where he made his debut in the title role in "Eugene Onegin" by Tchaikovsky. In the season 2014/2015 he made his debutes as Conte in "Le Nozze di Figaro", as Prince Eletsky in "The Queen of Spades" and as Mercutio in "Romeo and Julliete" by Gounod.

Performances

Peter Galliard

Peter Galliard was born in Chur, Switzerland. He studied under Rico Peterelli, at the Conservatory in Feldkirch under Maria Eibenschütz and at the Mozarteum Salzburg under Rudolf Knoll, where in 1985 he won First Prize at the International Mozart Competition.

In 1986 Rolf Liebermann invited him to join the Hamburg State Opera, where Galliard has been working till today. In Hamburg he sang Tamino in “Die Zauberflöte”, Jaquino in “Fidelio”, Cassio in “Otello”, Froh, Loge and Mime in “Das Rheingold”, Augustin Moser in “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”, Alfred and Eisenstein in “Die Fledermaus”, Peter Iwanow in “Zar und Zimmermann”, Bardolfo in “Falstaff”, Captain in “Wozzeck”, the Witch Knusperhexe in “Hänsel und Gretel”, Lenskij in “Eugen Onegin”, Narraboth in “Salome” and Don Basilio in “Le Nozze di Figaro”. In Amsterdam he sang the Prince in “Lulu and the Captain”. Peter Galliard also sang L'Aumonier in “Dialogues des Carmélites“ and Melot in “Tristan und Isolde“, Walther von der Vogelweide in “Tannhäuser“, Wolfgang Capito in “Mathis der Maler“, Goro in “Madame Butterfly“, Red Whiskers in “Billy Budd“ and Demon in “L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe“. In March 2008 Peter Galliard performed in the new production of “The Ring” in Hamburg as Loge in Rheingold. In 2008/09 he sang the part of Mime in “Das Rheingold” and Augustin Moser in “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”. Also in 2009 he made his debut as Mime in the new production of “Siegfried” and was highly praised by the audience and press. In the 2010/2011 season he sang in new productions of “Bliss” and “Palestrina”. In 2011/2012 concert performances of “Siegfried” and “Das Rheingold” led him to Lisbon and Australia. In the 2012/2013 season he gave a concert performance of “Das Rheingold” in Santa Cecilia. In summer 2013 he was part of concert performances of “Das Rheingold” and “Siegfried” at the Lucerne Festival. In spring 2015 “Siegfried” in Nuremberg followed. Apart from his commitments in Hamburg, in 2015/2016 he sang the Gurrelieder in Shanghai and Beijing, a concert at the Salzburger Osterfestspiele and the role of Haushofmeister bei Faninal in “Der Rosenkavalier” at the Opéra National de Paris. 17/18 leads him as guest to the Enescu Festival in Bucharest where he will be singing Capito in “Mathis der Maler”.

Peter Galliard performed at many opera houses in Germany – at the Staatsoper and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, as well as at the Opera Houses in Frankfurt, Dresden and Leipzig. He also worked in Japan, Spain, France and Israel. Peter Galliard’s repertoire is very extensive. There are many TV, radio and CD recordings of his opera, Lied and concert performances. The tenor worked with famous stage directors such as August Everding, Johannes Schaaf, Harry Kupfer and Peter Konwitschny as well as with great conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Christian Thielemann, Ingo Metzmacher, Simone Young and Kirill Petrenko.

On December 9, 2017, the Hamburg Senate honored Peter Galliard with the title of “Kammersänger” for his special merits in the field of music.

Alexander Roslavets

Alexander Roslavets graduated from the vocal department of the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in 2014 where he studied under Professor Nikolai Okhotnikov.

While studying at the Conservatory he was a soloist of the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory theatre where he appeared on stage as Malyuta Skuratov in “The Tsar's Bride” by Rimsky-Korsakov and sang at the numerous festivals and concerts. In July 2013/14 he took part at the open-air opera festivals in Saint Petersburg where he sang the parts of Mephistopheles in the opera “Faust” by Ch. Gounod and King Dodon in the opera “The Golden Cockerel” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov conducted by Fabio Mastrangelo. In April 2014 he made his debut on the stage of the Mikhailovsky Theatre as Tom in “Un ballo in maschera” by Verdi.

In the seasons 2014/15-2015/16 he was an artist of the Young Artist Program of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. In 2015 he made his debut on the stage of the Bolshoi performing the part of Marchese d'Obigny in “La Traviata” by Verdi under the baton of Tugan Sokhiev.

In November 2015, he debuted on the stage of the Bolshoi theatre of Belarus singing Don Basilio in “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” by Rossini.

In June 2016 he performed the part of Duke of Cornwall in the World Premier of S. Slonimsky`s King Lear on the stage of the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall conducted by Vladimir Jurowsky.

In July 2016 he covered the part of Mephistopheles in the new production of “La damnation de Faust” staged by Peter Stein in the Bolshoi. He sung the part of Brander in the premiere conducted by Tugan Sokhiev.

In October 2016 he joined the ensemble of the Hamburg State Opera.

Alexander took part in several international competitions among which in 2014 the 42nd Russian National Vocal Graduates Competition in St. Petersburg where he won the Grand Prix and the 1st International Christmas Vocal Competition in Minsk where he was awarded a special prize. In 2015 he took part in the 10th International competition of E. Obraztsova in St. Petersburg where he was awarded a diploma and he won the first prize in the 7th International Competition of Opera Singers «Saint-Petersburg». In 2016 he won the second prize in the 6th Galina Vishnevskaya International Opera Singers Competition in Moscow and the Grand Prix and the Audience Prize in the II International Eva Marton Competition in Budapest. He is the laureate of the Special Foundation of the President of Belarus, which supports young talents.

Performances

Maria Koler

Performances

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

The Philharmonic State Orchestra is Hamburg’s largest and oldest orchestra, looking back on many years of musical history. When the “Philharmonic Orchestra” and the “Orchestra of the Hamburg Municipal Theatre” merged in 1934, two tradition-steeped orchestras combined. Philharmonic concerts have been performed in Hamburg since 1828, artists such as Clara Schumann, Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms being regular guests of the Philharmonic Society. The history of the opera company goes back even further: Hamburg has been home to musical theatre since 1678, even if a regular opera or theatre orchestra was only formed later. To this day, the Philharmonic State Orchestra has embodied the sound of the Hansa City, a concert and opera orchestra in one.

Starting with the 2015/2016 season, Kent Nagano has taken on the position of Hamburg’s General Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra and the Hamburg State Opera. In his first season Kent Nagano initiated a new project, the Philharmonic Academy at St. Michaelis, focusing on experimentation and chamber music. In 2016 Nagano and the Philharmonic undertook a successful three-week concert tour in South America. Since 2017 Kent Nagano and the Philharmonic State Orchestra have continued the traditional Philharmonic Concerts at the new Elbphilharmonie, for which they commissioned Jörg Widmann to compose the oratorio ARCHE, which was given its world premiere during the hall’s opening festivities.

The Philharmonic State Orchestra offers approximately 35 concerts per season and performs more than 240 performances per year at the Hamburg State Opera and the Hamburg Ballet – John Neumeier, making it Hamburg’s busiest orchestra. The stylistic bandwidth covered by the 134 musicians, ranging from historically informed performance practice to contemporary works and including concert, opera and ballet repertoire, is unique throughout Germany. Chamber Music has a long tradition at the Philharmonic State Orchestra: what began in 1929 with a concert series for chamber orchestra has been continued since 1968 by a series of chamber music only, which celebrates its 50-year anniversary in 2017/18.

In 2008 Simone Young and the Philharmonic State Orchestra won the Brahms Award of the Schleswig-Holstein Brahms Society. In 2012 Simone Young received a Helpmann Award for performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Wagner’s Rheingold with the Philharmonic in Brisbane, Australia. The orchestra has recorded the complete Ring by Wagner as well as the complete symphonies of Johannes Brahms and Anton Bruckner – the latter in the rarely-performed original versions – as well as works by Mahler, Hindemith and Berg, and has released DVDs of opera and ballet productions by Hosokawa, Offenbach, Reimann, Auerbach, J.S. Bach, Puccini, Poulenc and Weber.

The members of the Philharmonic State Orchestra feel equally beholden to the Hansa City’s musical tradition and responsible for the city’s artistic future. Since 1978 the musicians have been participating in education programmes in Hamburg’s schools. To this day, the TV format Musikkontakte initiated by Gerd Albrecht during his tenure as General Music Director is unforgotten. Today, the orchestra maintains a broad education programme, including school and kindergarten visits, patronage for music projects, introductory events for children and family concerts. The orchestra’s own academy prepares young musicians for their professional careers. The Philharmonic’s musicians thereby make an equally enjoyable and valuable contribution to tomorrow’s music education in the music metropolis of Hamburg.